Focal Aria 948, Revel F208, Tekton Double Impact


Hey everyone, this is a long post, so thanks in advance to those who bear with me.

Home theater/stereo is a new experiment for me.  I was recently persuaded by some surprisingly positive experiences with soundbars to look for better, louder, options with more definition and overall sonic appeal. 

I am trying to decide on a set of floorstanding speakers for probably 70% HT use and 30% music.  This is my second attempt at finding a set of speakers in the last 6 months.  I started with a pair of Klipsch RP-8000f which I initially liked.  I found myself not wanting to listen to them for very long at what seemed like normal volumes - after maybe an hour listening fatigue would set in and my ears would feel a bit assaulted.  It is possible that they were not fully broken in, if those speakers require breaking in (I have heard that they may).  It is also possible that my room shredded the sound to crap since one speaker had to be right next to a large window, but this is not something I can avoid.  I began to wonder what better options might be available within a moderately expanded budget.

So, after reading forum after forum, review after review, I think I have narrowed the options to the Focal Aria 948, the Revel F208, and the Tekton Double Impact.  I want to start with a 2.0 system and hopefully (with eventual, begrudging approval from my wife) get at least a 3.1 system going.  So I'm really interested in floorstanders so that I can put money towards very good as-full-range-as-possible sound from the front L and R initially.  I am interested in at least a 3-way design so that I can get a dedicated midrange driver, as well, and large woofers for SPL and (hopefully) clear and substantial bass.

The problem is, I have no way of auditioning these speakers before buying and my room is so far from ideal that I am sure most of you will laugh and tell me to just use the speakers in the TV, haha.  The room is about 16' x 22' with a vaulted ceiling which rises from one long wall to the other long wall up to the ceiling of the 2nd floor of the house.  I have to stick these speakers near a corner and I have no way around that (the room simply cannot be rearranged or it will cease to be functional as a living room).  The "corner" speaker will be about 2.5-3.0' from the long wall and only inches from the short wall (immediately adjacent a large window).  The other speaker will be about 12-18" from the long wall and nowhere near a short wall.

I have heard that the Focal Aria 948 is fussy regarding placement and maybe demanding for amplification because of an impedance dip.  I've heard opinions which say these are easy to drive, as well.  I have also heard from a Focal dealer (when I was asking about a used Electra 1028 Be II) that the Arias are not the best sound for the buck.  He suggested Martin Logan Motion 60XTi, but I hear mixed reviews on the 60XTs (not many reviews on the XTi's yet).  But the Aria 948's have 8.25" woofers, which honestly excite me, and I expect they would be able to produce beautiful sound at substantial volumes.

The Revel F208 has boundary correction hardware on the speaker itself, which seems very useful if it actually works given my placement constraints.  I have also read that these are very neutral, which sounds appealing to me, but some find them "boring".

The Tekton speakers have had me intrigued since I first started looking for speakers months ago.  I first saw the Seas Pendragons but I ended up obsessing over the idea of the Double Impacts with the large mid-range array and the huge woofers.  They are reported as easy to drive and with a very "real" sound, but they feel like the riskiest choice among the three.  In spite of the rave reviews for the Double Impacts that I find almost everywhere I look, I can't help but wonder how their sound might compare to the Focals and the Revels, which are more traditional designs that, whether you like them or not, few can say are "bad" speakers (objectively speaking). 

Has anyone heard the Double Impacts, Focals and/or Revels?  Do the Double Impacts sound "nasally" with vocals or dialogue (as one forum member elsewhere commented... though I don't know if it was this forum or another)?

Will any of these speakers be more forgiving of the obviously less-than-ideal placement they will be forced to contend with?

And lastly, I bought a Cambridge Audio Azur 851W for less than half price on Audiogon.  It seems like it should be able to drive a 4 ohm or 8 ohm speaker with ease, though I have read it can get very hot.  Does anyone have any experience with this amplifier and can you comment on how it might sound driving any of the Focal, Revel, or Tekton options?  


graitscott
Had the f208 amazing speaker now I have the focal aria 948 right now  I like them the best in my setup 
I debated between the Revel F208 and the Tekton Double Impact for some time. I bought a used pair of F208's and I have no regrets.  I never auditioned the Tektons but what made my decision is the difference in resources and speaker releases between the two companies.  Revel has unlimited R&D money and only puts out new speaker designs after they have been thoroughly tested.  Tekton has one person designing new speakers (per my limited knowledge)  and has more models than I can count.  It seems less about R&D and more about releasing any idea that comes to mind.  I'm not saying Tekton doesn't make a good product (I've never heard them) but I am skeptical of a small company that has more options than competitors many times it's size. Ultimately I put my money with Revel and their science based (heavily funded)  approach to speaker design... I have yet to be disappointed. 
Since you will use this system for HT you should consider the Double Impact with Center channel package. You end up saving over $400 on the center channel if you order with the DI’s. Just a thought. I have the Moab’s and love them. My good friend has the DIs and loves them. 
Thanks everyone for the great input.

With two of my kids at their grandma's today, and with a little bit of free time permitted thereby, I was able to track down a Focal dealer who had the 948's set up to demo.  I convinced my wife to go with me.

She loved them!  She was almost as excited about them as I was, which is saying quite a lot.  Suffice it to say, weeks ago she was horrified by my consideration of a $3500 (on sale) pair of speakers.  She had liked the Klipschs and felt that "speakers are speakers," so why should so much money be invested in them?  To say it was an uphill battle to convince her to even see my side of the story is a huge understatement.  Well, today she finally heard the difference for herself and she was *blown away* by the Focals, as was I.  She admired the leather work on the speakers, thought the speakers themselves looked "elegant," and was impressed by the detail and realism of the sound compared to the Klipschs.  I thought very much the same things.  Couldn't have asked for a better result from that audition.  We also heard a $120,000 pair of Sonus Fabers, which was impressive... but I preferred the Arias at the time, to be honest.  That may be a "defensive mechanism," though, since I'm not in the market for speakers which cost more than some small houses.  I was grateful for the opportunity to hear them, though.

Anyway, I wish I could audition the Tektons to make an informed comparative decision.  The nearest pair (that I know of) is in Raleigh, NC, which is about 2.5-3 hours from me.  With 3 young kids at home, I would not be able to make such a trip.  It's a shame since a lot of people really seem to love them.  

I don't know if I will have the opportunity to hear the Revels, but I don't doubt they are a good speaker.  

I know the Arias will sound different in my room than at the dealer's, but I still suspect I would be very, very happy with them based on what I heard today.
@jgreen19 That sounds like a good deal, but $3500 is essentially my max budget for speakers right now.  And it took a Herculean effort on my part to convince my wife that such a budget was not just throwing money into the wind.  Words are words, though.  When she heard the Focals today she was sold on them.  Suddenly $3500 seemed much more reasonable to her, I think... the speakers made their case for me far better than my feeble words could.  But the Focals are "safe" (in her words) since she has seen and heard them.  She is not as keen on the Tektons because there's no way to hear them before buying, and losing hundreds on return shipping or the immediate depreciation on the used market is not something either of us has the stomach for.

That being said, if an opportunity comes up within the next two weeks to hear some Tektons, that could change.

If any of you have, or know someone with, some Double Impacts (or any other Tektons, really, just to get a sample of their sound) in the Richmond, VA area, and are comfortable just letting someone audition them, please let me know.